'Absolute carnage': Thunderstorm damages buildings, topples trees outside Calgary
A severe thunderstorm lasted about 10 minutes, but Nathan Canning says that was enough time to blow the entire roof off his Quonset barn and cause thousands of dollars' worth of damage to his Langdon property.
"We got a warning on our phone saying there was a possible tornado and came to look outside and that's when it started hailing really bad and really fast," Canning told CTV News while surveying the damage from Tuesday night's storm.
"It was intense. I mean it was hitting the walls and windows and my house was shaking pretty good that it almost went up."
A damaged building on Nathan Canning's property near Langdon, Alta. as a result of Tuesday evening's storm.
The storm, which tracked northeastward between Langdon and Chestermere, is suspected to have produced a tornado along with heavy wind and rainfall.
According to people who live nearby, the hail that fell was the size of large ping-pong balls. The severe weather tore several large holes into Canning's garage and caused several trees to topple including one that fell directly onto his car parked in front of his family's home.
"The shed, the playhouses, the whole yard is absolute carnage," he added.
Tuesday evening's storm downed large branches on a property near Langdon, Alta., east of Calgary.
Dave Nickerson, who lives just five kilometres away, was on site Wednesday morning to help the Canning family remove trees and clean up their yard.
"It was pretty dark and pretty windy and wild," Nickerson said.
"I didn't expect it to get this crazy like it did here because it took two buildings down and knocked-cans over, so that's a storm for sure."
Damage to the siding on Nathan Canning's home near Langdon, Alta. following Tuesday's storm.
A tornado watch issued for Rocky View County near Chestermere was only active for a short time, but it spoke to the potential for damage to people and property. Environment and Climate Change Canada warned property owners to take proper safety precautions during severe weather events.
"Go indoors to a room on the lowest floor, away from outside walls and windows, such as a basement, bathroom, stairwell, or interior closet," said Tuesday evening's tornado watch alert.
"Leave mobile homes, vehicles, tents, trailers and other temporary or free-standing shelter, and move to a strong building if you can. As a last resort, lie in a low spot and protect your head from flying debris."
As of Wednesday, there has been no official confirmation of a tornado touching down in the region during Tuesday's storm.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.